Transition in the dairy industry was the overarching theme of this year’s Women in Dairy Conference, held in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Nov. 5, 2014. This biennial conference first began in 2004. The conference kicked off with an evening reception on Nov. 4. The following day, keynote speaker Mike McGrann of Saint Joseph’s University challenged attendees to lead better communication within their farming enterprises.
“Think of yourself not just as farmers, but as family business leaders. As business leaders,” he said.
He provided dairywomen with key strategic questions to ask themselves and their family members.
A series of breakout sessions were available to attendees throughout the day.
Penn State Extension educator Amber Yutzy led a workshop featuring tools for evaluating milk quality. Mid-Atlantic Dairy Association’s Cindy Weimer and Laura England advised dairywomen on how to prepare for an on-farm crisis. Attendees were encouraged to develop a crisis plan for their dairy operations.
AgChoice Farm Credit Director of Sales Crystal Standish gave resources for managing finances and preparing to apply for an agricultural loan.
Biotechnology Industry Organization Information Representative Kate Hall provided attendees with a look at “GMO Answers,” a website launched to create dialogue about GMOs.
Dr. Ginger Fenton, a dairy educator with Penn State Extension, shared survey results of agricultural female-focused research in Pennsylvania. Fenton’s presentation detailed the risks dairywomen take on dairy farms, including injury and illness.
The conference concluded with a panel discussion featuring three dairywomen who have been involved in farm transition.
Andrea Stoltzfus of Berlin, Pennsylvania, is married to Duane Stoltzfus, one of the four brother-owners of Pennwood Farms. The family had relocated their farm from Berks County to Somerset County in 1999 in order to expand the herd and accommodate all of the family members who wanted to be involved in the operation. The family is now considering their options for incorporating the third generation into the farm.
“You have to ask them if they want to be involved and how they want to do it,” Stoltzfus said. “We have to communicate to one another what we want our future story to be and somehow make it happen. We can’t just have this dream of how it should work.”
Betty Forgy farms with her husband, three sons and their wives in McVeytown, Pennsylvania. Betty and Garry Forgy made a rule that the sons had to work off the farm or go to college and then work on the family farm for five years before they could become an owner.
Forgy recognizes a need for more regular meetings between the family members, but she and her husband have set boundaries for running a family business.
“I’ve always told the boys, ‘You can get mad, but you need to drop it. Your dad and I do what we think is right. I don’t ever want to hear you say that what we did wasn’t fair,’” she said.
Candice (Dotterer) White is one of four members of a third generation wanting to take over their family’s operation in Mill Hall, Pennsylvania.
“I asked my grandfather about his advice for transitioning the farm, since he had gone through the process with my father and uncle,” White said. “He told me, ‘Brothers are brothers. Wives aren’t sisters. And cousins are not brother and sister.’”
Family dynamics can make transitions even more complicated, but the Dotterer family emphasizes that any sibling or cousin who wants to be involved can be involved.
The next Women in Dairy conference will be held in 2016. PD
Read more from the panel discussion here, and read about a question from the audience that turned the conversation particularly lively in PD Editor Emily's Caldwell's editorial.
PHOTOS
TOP: Conference attendees were encouraged to meet a new dairywoman throughout the day.
MIDDLE: The conference concluded with a panel discussion featuring three women who had experienced or are currently in farm transitions. The dairywomen (left to right) are: Andrea Stoltzfus, Berlin, Pennsylvania; Betty Forgy, McVeytown, Pennsylvania; and Candice White, Mill Hall, Pennsylvania.
BOTTOM: Pennsylvania State Dairy Princess Ashley Mohn and Alternate Dairy Princess Carly Foose provided a milk toast during lunch at the conference. Photos by Emily Caldwell.
Emily Caldwell
Editor
Progressive Publishing
